Planet Granite Sunnyvale Staff

You may remember Nick from the old Santa Clara days when he worked event staff and set routes. Well, after a five year intermission he’s back. When he’s not working or climbing at Planet Granite, he can often be found clipping draws or cruising boulder fields with a crash pad on his back. And when a break from climbing is needed, he’s usually on the mat training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Adriel likes every aspect of climbing. He likes it because
it challenges him over and over again. It never gets too
old. Climbing has given him the chance to travel all over
the U.S. and has introduced him to genuine people who
are like him, psyched on climbing. He also enjoys running.

Jonathan

Jonathan graduated high school in 2007. Tired of sitting in a classroom he opted to take a year off before starting college. In his gap year he went on a three-month wilderness course with the National Outdoor Leadership School. Climbing in the Rockies did to Jonathan what it would do to many of us, and he was hooked for life. Whenever Jonathan isn't at Planet Granite he's usually at the UC Santa Cruz library face-down at his regular desk trying to catch up on sleep.
Every once in a while his dreams come true and he goes on a climbing trip outside. Jonathan is down to climb anything from pebbles to alpine multipitch. At Planet Granite he works the desk and teaches belay lessons and Beginner Rock Climbing courses. He answers to a variety of nicknames including "J. Guy" and "Johnny Blue Eyes." In fact, if you call him Johnny Blue Eyes, he may very well blush.

John

John Dennery started climbing in Spring 2008 and began working at Planet Granite that Fall. He loves the challenge of bouldering and hopes that one day he will be as strong as his hero, Mike Abell. He also enjoys running, surfing, music, and Ninja Warrior. He is studying to be a composer at San Jose State University.

Dan

I started climbing about nine years ago, meeting more experienced climbers at our school indoor wall who taught me to climb outside at local areas like Castle Rock and Pinnacles. Most of my climbing has happened around the Bay Area, and I love having my climbing history rooted in places that I've come to know well and feel like home. Yosemite was the site of my first trad lead on a 5.4 and still the place where my biggest aspirations lie. I love anything on rock - bouldering, sport, and trad - and am constantly pushing to get better at all three. Climbing offers so many different types of rewards, and the variety is a big part of why I love it. The social and gymnastic elements of bouldering make it the most fun in the moment, while the dedication of working on a sport project lends extra motivation to training and gives you sequences to mime out while chomping at the bit during the week to get back to the crag. Trad climbing lets you climb the biggest, raddest, most beautiful pieces of rock, and the added challenge of routefinding, controlling your emotions, constantly making decisions about managing risk, and working together with your partner to top out some awesome and intimidating feature are all ingredients in the majority of my most memorable climbing moments. Plus I think there's no better feeling in climbing than cruising up a bomber handcrack.

I teach private lessons in both crack and face climbing, as well as overall fitness. As one of the Crossfit instructors at Planet Granite, I'm constantly experimenting with what forms of strength and fitness training complement climbing well.

When not climbing or training for it, I run, build web applications, coach Crossfit and the youth climbing team at PG, and try to balance time with two groups of great friends: those who are likewise obsessed with climbing and those who haven't figured out how awesome it is yet.

Justin

Justin has been climbing since 1991. Among his accomplishments, he has scaled numerous big walls in Yosemite, countless sport climbs around Bishop and Mammoth, plenty of multi-pitch climbs in the Valley and Red Rocks, and not quite enough summits in the High Sierra. “Climbing isn’t just mountaineering, or sport, or trad,” he says. “For me, it’s wild adventure.” So when he’s not cramming his foot into sticky rubber, Justin can be found hiking and backpacking anywhere there’s mountain scenery and rugged terrain. More recently, he decided to check out the bouldering craze. He’s even contemplating a crash pad purchase.

Professionally, Justin has worked off and on in the industry since 1995. Between earning an undergraduate degree in philosophy and completing a teaching credential program, he has taught climbing programs for beginning, intermediate and advanced climbers. He has also guided extensively at Castle Rock and Pinnacles.